#FollowFriday: BTGNC Collective!

“We know the truth, we got the stats, if the city so broke, where they get that money at?!”

From coining our chants to leading our train takeovers, Chicago’s BTGNC Collective has thrown down extra hard with the #NoCopAcademy campaign since Day 1. The BTGNC Collective is a network of Black, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming people organizing for liberation in the Chicago area. Through direct action, community education, and creating spaces for healing, they seeks to strengthen the bonds within Black TGNC communities, and fight back against the systems that harm them. Check out how and why they’ve contributed to the #NoCopAcademy campaign in the last several months!

When did your organization, BTGNC Collective, decide to join the No Cop Academy campaign? Why?

We are proud to say that we were one of the early endorsers of this campaign, and were in attendance at the first press conference at City Hall last fall! We know that any racist measures that hurt Black people always hurt Black trans people, and that the austerity measures that our city is pushing–closing schools and mental health clinics, and forcing poor folks from affordable housing–always hurt Black trans people disproportionately.

How has your organization contributed to the campaign?

You already know BTGNC comes with the chants! Not to be shady, but some of the most memorable messaging and catchiest chants of this campaign were penned by our collective members. From the ballroom to the street, you know Black trans people always bring the life!

What has been your organization’s highlight of the campaign?

Members of our collective and our allies led our own train takeover last fall to raise awareness of the struggle and help create noise around it in our city. For us, Black trans people from across the gender spectrum showing up for Black trans lives in jail, in schools, in the hood, and those that have already been lost to state and interpersonal violence, is core to our mission. This campaign has also been very supportive of our organizing, and we were proud to show up for NCA!

What strategies/tactics/frameworks does your organization bring to the campaign?

We believe struggles for trans and queer liberation cannot be separated from the fight for abolishing prisons, police, and all militarization. We bring a focus on trans and queer identities and struggles, because Black trans and queer voices have been leading the call for abolition for generations, as well as in this current moment.

BTGNC Collective member leading #NoCopAcademy mini teach-in during student sit-in against Englewood School Closures – 2.28.18